Natural caloric sweeteners, such as sucrose, glucose, and fructose, possess desirable taste characteristics, but they add to the caloric content of products. Therefore, there is great consumer interest in low or non-caloric sweeteners that are considered as healthier alternatives. Non-caloric natural and synthetic high-potency sweeteners are known, but they most often possess flavor profiles that are not as desirable to consumers as sugars. Thus, it is desirable to develop non-caloric sweeteners that can be substituted for sugar and that have a more desirable taste profile.
The species Stevia rebaudiana (“Stevia”) is the source of certain naturally occurring sweet steviol glycosides. Considerable research and development has been done to evaluate the use of sweet steviol glycosides of Stevia as non-caloric sweeteners. Sweet steviol glycosides that may be extracted from Stevia include the six rebaudiosides (i.e., rebaudioside A to F), stevioside (the predominant glycoside in extracts from wild type Stevia), and dulcosides.
Commercial low or non-caloric sweeteners based on rebaudioside A and other steviol glycosides tend to have bitter and licorice aftertastes. These characteristics are especially notable at concentrations above about 300 ppm. In food applications, preferred use levels (8-10% sugar equivalence values) are typically about 500 ppm to about 1000 ppm, above the range at which off tastes are first noticed. Thus a need continues to exist for reduced-, low-, and/or non-caloric sweeteners comprising sweet steviol glycosides that have taste profiles with reduced or no bitterness, undesirable flavors (e.g., licorice), or sweetness profiles more like natural caloric sweeteners, or combinations of such properties.